Gustavus Adolphus College

Jeanne Herman, Dept. of Health and Exercise Science

As a participant in a number of seminars and workshops sponsored by CVR, I have learned a great deal about vocation and community. Opportunities to hear lectures, participate with colleagues in discussion, and raise questions have been invaluable to me as an educator and member of the GAC community. These educational experiences have had a very direct impact on my teaching. For example, I now cover an entire unit devoted to vocation within my Senior Seminar in Health Education. Several readings for that course emerged from CVR workshops I attended and recommendations from colleagues. Students consistently rate the unit on vocation as one of the most important in the course. When I ask them to explain why they feel this way, these are some of the comments they share:

• "In my four years at Gustavus, I have never quite understood that vocation is more than a job or career. Our discussion this last week was awesome."
  
• "I now realize that vocation is about purpose, meaning in one's life, and contributions
  to others. Somehow I feel better knowing that a job is more than a job."
  
• "I always thought service learning was the same as volunteering. Now I know that
  vocation is much more than volunteering. I never really thought about the idea before."
  
• "You know, in my years at GAC, I have never really been sure about what I wanted to do. I've thought about jobs before but when we read that chapter by Parker Palmer, I knew that teaching is my calling. Very cool to finally understand why I want to teach."

These are just a few of the comments taken from the course evaluation in Senior Seminar. As a result of the student response in Senior Seminar, I now integrate the concept of community, service learning, and vocation within other classes where appropriate to content and objectives. In every case, I am left feeling very much as though students desperately want to hear more about these topics and listen to students and faculty discuss their sense of calling, what gives meaning in their lives, and how to make a difference. These conversations are wonderful, and I suspect I would never have initiated them beyond fairly simplistic questions and definitions had I not participated in some of the activities sponsored by CVR. I would welcome additional opportunities to share ideas and learn with colleagues across campus.

I sincerely hope this office not only continues as a service to faculty, students, and community, but that its role as an educational center at Gustavus can be further expanded.